Ayumi and the Twilight: The Sequel
by ayumi-neko-neko
Summary: In the sequel to Neko and the Twilight Princess, Ayumi and Yoshimi are on their own adventure . Get ready for more danger and excitement, mixed with humor and drama. Read Neko and the Twilight Princess first before reading this,or you won't understand.
1. Chapter 1: Prologue

**Prologue: What happened in Neko and the Twilight Princess**

It was Stephanie Faletto's 15th birthday! Her father, Paul, had reserved a copy of Zelda and the Twilight Princess, which had been delayed at least 2 times. She was as ready as she could ever be for it.

Her father drove her to Gamestop, the video game selling store, and she was indeed, very excited that it was hers at last. They bought the game and began heading home, while she "drank" in the Walkthrough Guide they had bought with the game. As soon as she gets home, she runs to her room, and being the clutz she is, runs into the door and blacks out for a few seconds. She quickly disregards her parent's exasperated concern and walks in her room to put the game inside the Gamcube consul.

She, melodramatically taken, was "mesmerized" by the wonderful graphics. And instead of naming Link, "Link," She names him Yoshimi (a while ago, her brother helped her beat Windwaker, and he had named Link, Yoshimi. That's why she named him that.) However, when she gets to the part where Yoshimi arrives at the wall of twilight (Ilia and Collin just got kidnapped), the game freezes!!

Poor Steph, she completely forgot to save her progress after starting it, and now she has to start all over.

She walked over to her game consul glumly, and almost presses the restart button, when something on the screen catches her eye. Strange words were scrolling on the bottom of her screen, and she leans in closer to get a better glance. She instantly is sucked into the TV.

_Author Side Note: I know you must be thinking, how cliché, getting sucked into a video game, you probably have seen that before in other stories, but I assure you, this is different. End of Side note._

She opens her eyes to see she is outside Ordon village. After pocketing a blue rupee, she is wondering which part of the game she is. She had memorized the entire guide book in the car. Ilia runs past her and towards the Ordon Spring, and Yoshimi comes soon after. She follows him and hears the crash of the King Bulbin and his warriors kidnapping Ilia and Collin. She doesn't get there yet, and the scene freezes. One of her muses, Matt, appears to talk to her. He explains what's going on, revealing that he can read her mind.

He doesn't explain everything though, some things she has to figure out on her own. The scene unfreezes, and she runs after Yoshimi. She chases after him, and they reach the wall of twilight. She realizes this is when her game froze, and gets excited when the scene progressed further. Yoshimi gets grabbed into the Twilight, and she gets transported there as well. She witnesses Yoshimi transform into a wolf, and sees the imp-like creature named Midna.

The scene changes again, and she follows Yoshimi and Midna through a sewer. Midna makes Yoshimi her "slave" and constantly teases him. Midna, besides getting on Yoshimi's nerves, got on her nerves as well.

Nobody seemed to see Stephanie, but throughout the entire time, Steph thinks she sees Midna watching her. Yoshimi is forced to find a way past the metal bars by Midna, who was waiting on the other side. Stephanie looks at Midna and sees her watching her for sure this time. She communicates with Midna with deep irritation, and the imp laughs at her. She demands to know where they are going, but Midna just shrugs that off, saying she will find out soon enough.

Stephanie also wonders why Yoshimi and the monsters can't see her, and finds out that she is a spirit, but temporarily. Yoshimi finds his way to Midna (and Steph), and they continue on.

They get to the rooftops, and Yoshimi/Stephanie sees that they are in, or rather on top of, Hyrule Castle. Steph magically gets transported to the tower window, where Midna had pointed out they were going towards. Yoshimi and Midna appear, and they go see Zelda.

In Zelda's room, Zelda also seems to see Stephanie, and makes her visible much to the surprise of Yoshimi. They find out what happened, to turn the are to twilight. Zelda puts a spell on Stephanie, and she goes to sleep.

Stephanie wakes up in a comfortable bed, without a memory of what happened. She has a new identity, looks, age, and life. Her new name is Ayumi Yamashita, and she is a native Ordoner who craves an adventure outside of Ordon. She helps Fado put away the cattle, and goes home. Yoshimi comes along, and she begs to go with him on his adventures, but he says no. It seems, she has been doing that for a while, whenever he comes to town. The kids are gone (kidnapped) and she longs to go help save them. After Yoshimi leaves, she runs away from Ordon.

She sees the guy with the bird nest in his hair, and receives some flattery and a free oil lamp. She continues outside of Hyrule and gets stopped by Rusl. He gives her a sword and shield (she was stupid enough to forget that she would need one in the outside world) and continues. Along the way, she runs into Yoshimi who is very irritated that she managed to escape.

She wakes up in the middle of the night, and overhears him talking to Midna. She gets the idea of what he's been doing and goes back to sleep. In her sleep, she has flashbacks of what really happened in her other life, but she is still unaware that she had one. She forgets about them in the morning.

They get to Kakariko and when she was supposed to stay there, Ayumi follows Yoshimi for several days, making sure he doesn't see her. They get to the wall of Twilight, and she is magically pulled in again. She sees Yoshimi as a wolf, and Midna on his back. She gets another flashback of looking at her in the sewer.

Yoshimi gets very irritated (yet again) at Ayumi, and Midna puts her to sleep. She has multiple dreams of "Stephanie's life" and gets hurt. She wakes up in Kakariko Inn and realizes that she was dreaming of getting hurt, with yet again no memory of her dreams.

She sees Ilia and learns that her memory is gone. After talking to Ilia and Renado (the shaman) she goes to the graveyard and meets Ralis. She helps him overcome his fear of being in power and failing his people.

His mother appears, as the scene freezes again, and Ayumi finds out that she has an innate power. They go to the Inn together in high spirits. The next morning, Yoshimi wakes her up with breakfast and she remembers that it's her 18th birthday. They go downstairs and mingle. Suddenly they are all attacked by Shadow Creatures.

Yoshimi grabs her and they make a run for it.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 11: Resting in Ordon Spring; The Tale of Yoshimi and a New Destiny.

**Me: Haha, I actually finished a whole story!! I had copy and pasted Neko and the **

**Twilight Princess and put it in a single document. Over 72 pages of "Unlaziness" **

**Woo!**

**Epona: Ayumi does not own Zelda or any of it's games, this is strictly fan-based **

**and a continuation of the tale Neko and the Twilight Princess. **

**Me: Wait… Epona? You can talk?! **

**Epona: Neigh. **

Yoshimi bathed Epona while she nuzzled on his cheek. He checked her saddle and reins to make sure they were secure. _What a day… Maybe the worst birthday I have ever had. I hope the gods protect Collin and the others. I don't want them to get hurt or kidnapped again on my case. What happened anyways? Yoshimi has to tell me. _I thought.

"Ayumi, I'm terribly sorry this had to happen. Especially today." He said. He did sound sorry, but doesn't he know it isn't his fault?

"You don't need to apologize. I can tell that it's my fault. Those creatures… They were looking for me, weren't they?" Yoshimi's silence gave me the answer. "Why though? In my room, you said something about 'she' saying this would happen, when you examined my cut. What do you mean by that?"

"Renado told me that Prince Ralis seemed in great spirits for the first time last night. You had also disappeared for a couple hours or so, but not as long as Ralis would be gone. You were inside the ancient graveyard with him." He looked at me solemnly.

We were on the outskirts of Ordon inside the Spirit's spring. I watched a butterfly flutter by and breathed in the fresh, ranch air. A soft breeze was blowing and everything seemed so peaceful. Yet, the tension of what had occurred was still weighing heavily on my mind.

Yoshimi and I barely escaped the shadow creatures. I shuddered as I remembered their dark bodies and long lean arms. The red tribal markings on their bodies glowed. Dark shields replaced their faces. When Yoshimi grabbed me and jumped out of the window, I had watched them rampaging through my room in search of me.

When we reached the edge of the village, the horrible creatures spotted us and attacked. Yoshimi yelled for me to get out my sword, and he pulled out his. Before I knew it, we were hacking away at them. I was surprised at how well I could use the blade. We finished two of them together in a last swipe, and they disappeared in a poof of smoke.

The kids, Ilia, and Renado came out of hiding, and Yoshimi explained to them that he and I had to leave. He called Epona, using the reed, and we rode away to Ordon. That's how we came here.

Yoshimi sighed and continued,

"You helped him find the courage to rule his people, but you were not the one supposed to do it. An event occurred that wasn't supposed to happen in a certain way. I was meant to help Ralis, but you stepped in, even if you didn't know–" He cut me off when I was about to protest, "and changed the course of Destiny."

"Why is that such a big deal?" I asked.

"By changing what was meant to happen, you set a new path for yourself." He answered, there was a slight note of sadness in his tone. "You have become part of this adventure to save Hyrule." His shadow rotated and became the solid form of Midna who then spoke.

"And with that new role, you attracted the attention of Zant, the King of Shadows which surrounds your life in danger." Yoshimi jumped at the unexpected appearance. I didn't though, seeing as I had already seen her when Yoshimi first took me to Kakariko and when I followed him to the Twilight.

"You could have scared her! Why didn't you wait until I explained more about you!" He said, then looked at me with a weary look.

"Obviously she's not surprised, Yoshimi, hehe, so don't overreact. She pretended to sleep (which is rather sly and rude seeing as you eavesdropped, Ayumi), if she can manage to stay calm in the morning, then she's got some interesting qualities about her. "How did you know—" I began to speak, but she cut me off.

"Eh, I'm very observant." she leaned back in mid-air and lounged with her arms behind her head. She yawned as if she was bored.

"Oh." I said, as Yoshimi sighed.

"Well, this is just perfect. You already know what's been going on."

"It was hard to understand most of what you were talking about. Things like, Twilight, Zant, Spirit's tears, Shadow Armor…" Midna smirked, when Yoshimi responded.

"Alright, to fill you in… Ilia and Collin was kidnapped by the Bublin king and his warriors. They knocked me out after they shot her with an arrow, but thank Nayru that she fell in the spring, so she wasn't killed. The next thing I knew, I woke up and saw them gone, and chased them to Faron Woods. But when I got to the border of the Woods, there was a massive wall, Twilight, covering the entire area. A shadow creature pulled me in and examined me. It cringed away and ran when my hand glowed, I had a split second glimpse and saw that the mark of the Triforce glowing brightly. I felt this horrific pain as my form morphed into the shape of a wolf. The monster came back and dragged me away.

The next thing I knew, I was in a jail cell in some place I did not recognize at all. I was a wolf, confused, my paws were shackled to the floor. The place had moisture in the air and smelt like a sewer (it turned out I was in a sewer.), and Midna appeared outside the cell. She taunted me–" Midna smirked, "and broke the shackles hold to the ground. I sniffed around, while she watched, for some means of escape. I rammed into some broken stools leaning against the cell bars, and found an indenture in the ground for me to get under the bars and on the other side. When I was on the other side, Midna jumped on my back, and said that I would have to do whatever she said, in order to get out." He continued on about what happened throughout the journey to the tower.

"What happened when you saw Zelda?" I asked. He paused, appearing to think hard about something, and hesitant to respond. _Someone else was there. _I jumped again at the assumption I had just made in my head. How would I know? Yoshimi didn't notice my sudden movement and answered,

"She told us how her castle was under siege. Zant had told her that she either will give up the kingdom to him or he would destroy Hyrule. Zelda gave up. The kingdom was succumbed to Twilight. Now it's my job to stop the Twilight from spreading." He seemed to have purposely skipped some details but I didn't bother him about it.

"The guard was coming to check on Zelda and we escaped through a window. Midna transported us to the outskirts of Ordon, outside this spring actually, and we made our way to Faron woods. The Spirit here called us and it rose up in the great form of a golden ram. It told us of the other spirits."

"Wait, the Spirit? Isn't that a myth?"

"No, it isn't a myth. May I continue?" He seemed impatient to get on with the tale.

"Oh, right… Sorry."

"The shadow creatures stole Tears of Light from each spirit, and those Tears protect Hyrule from peril. The Spirits were left weak, and Twilight resumed over certain areas. A Shadow creature came from the sky and attacked. They were the Twilit Messengers… The same creatures that attacked us at Kakariko and were beside Zant when he conquered Zelda. I killed it, biting and jumping on it and such, I was a wolf, and the Spirit told us to go to Faron to get rid of the Twilight. Midna said we had to get a sword and shield from the village before going to the Woods, and we found out that the children were kidnapped. We stole the sword and shield then went back to the woods. Once inside the twilight, we went to the Faron Spring. The spirit was indeed left weak, and gave us the Vessel that holds the Tears of Light. Some type of bug, or parasite were holding them, and we went through the entire Wood to kill and retrieve. The surroundings were awful to see. Darkness, monsters like Bokoblins and Deku Baba's and Keese, and others were swarmed everywhere. The path to the Forest temple was the worst. A poisonous, purple fog was swept over the area. With the help of Midna, we jumped from branch to branch and tree to get the Tears.

Once we had filled the Vessel, the Twilight faded away and we were back at Faron's spring. I was human once again. The Spirit informed me, after assuming it's great shape of a monkey with a scorpion tail, that I must go break the Twilight on the other Provinces. There was a forbidden power residing in the Forest temple, which was infested with dangerous monsters. The power was the Shadow Armor, and the Spirit's had locked it and the other pieces away, long ago.

He also told me, that I was the Chosen Hero, sent by the God's to save Hyrule. I was dressed in the garb of the Hero of Time, long ago. The green tunic and hat, gloves, and boots (what I am wearing now). The Spirit went away, and Midna said that we were to go to the Temple, almost threateningly, saying that Ilia and the others were probably kept there." He glared at Midna and she giggled at the memory, "We went through the woods, and I received a lantern like yours, plus a purchased refill of oil. I got to the mysterious fogged part of the wood, and a monkey came and grabbed my lantern. Swinging it back and forth, it dispersed the fog. It beckoned me to follow so I did, believing that it was stealing it at first, but it only wanted to help. We got to the Forest temple door, and burned the spider web that covered it." I shuddered.

"We went inside, and the entire area was slightly dark and dank, trees, moss and vines covered the place. It smelled like decay. There were also totem poles carved into monkeys at the entrance. I walked up the patio stairs that were on the opposite wall, and used my sling-shot to fire at the Walltula's that were crawling away on the vine." I remembered the time, when Rusl showed me a book of monsters. Rusl showed me, much to my hate of spiders, the picture of the miniature spiders. They were like Skulltulas, which I cringed at the thought of those gigantic spiders with the skull imprinted on their back. They were about the size of a boulder, with glowing yellow eyes and snapping pincers. I gasped and grabbed my head, shaking the memory out.

"Are you ok?" Yoshimi asked, when he saw what I did.

"Are there Skulltulas in there?" I asked, in the present tense. I AM extremely arachnophobic.

"Yes, tons." He patted my head when I whimpered, "I climbed up the vine, when they died, and I opened the door. The monkey followed behind. The room consisted of a giagantic wooden patio, that covered murky waters below, and it outstretched from the center in a big cross to other doors. One side, it curved into platforms to jump across, and another, a fragile bridge. I walked up the rotted steps, and suddenly a Skulltula dropped in my path from the ceiling." I shrieked, his words were playing into a movie in my head, he continued, "It took a lot to kill it, it skittered towards me, going in for the offense the entire time, and it's gigantic pincers blocked me from swiping it's head. I slashed at it's fat body and it screamed and jerked, and finally I made the finishing stab."

I didn't know why he was going into so much detail of the spider, but then realized he was starting to enjoy the audience despite my deathly fear.

"It disappeared in that familiar poof of smoke, and I continued. The monkey and I gathered two of it's friends and we searched the Temple. Along the way, we fought the red-bottomed baboon, which was possessed by some weird parasite. It seemed that that baboon was the monkey's 'boss.' But I was left the Magical Gale Boomerang which was possessed by a spirit of the wind. It was a pretty awesome tool because every time I threw it, it would fly majestically with a whirlwind to guide it. I used it to open doors that would need it. On and on I went, and I came across a long bridge. I went one way, and it turned out I was inside a nest of Skulltulas. A monkey cried from underneath the wooden patio we were on. Spider webs covered holes in the north, south and west end of the wooden beams. When I walked in, two Skulltula's twitched, their saliva dripping to the floor."

My eyes were wide, and my body was shaking while he described it. The sun was waning to the west. It seemed around 3:30 to 4:00 o' clock.

"I edged to the left a little, and the spider above me awoke, and dropped to the ground to attack. I killed it, shoving the sword into it's big end when it was caught off guard from me hacking, and I did the same with the other on the right. There were more Skulltulas hanging in the center of the smallish room. I killed them and listened below to which hole the monkey would be in. I had a feeling that more Skulltulas were down below. The monkey cried from, I think, it's hard to remember, the south hold and I burned the web and dropped down on a narrow platform. The monkey was right beside me, and a Skulltula was skittering around a step lower on the platform below the one I was on. I freed the monkey and measured myself toward a vine that was in front of me, and jumped, narrowly avoiding the Skulltula that was then scuttling towards me. I climbed up the vine, and the monkey followed.

"Again I went, through the Temple, and gathered the last of the monkeys, and they jumped on the rope that led across the deep gorge and hung upside down with their arms swinging so that I could be thrown one monkey to the next, across to a great door.

I noticed that the lock on the door, was large and ornate. Normal keys wouldn't suffice. So I went to the room with the large, cross patio and went to a gate I had noticed before with wind-turners and a large Z painted onto the ground. I got out the boomerang and used it in the 'Z' formation, and it opened. A chest was in the gate, and inside was an Ornate key, the same design as the door. I went back and used the monkeys, swinging forth from one to another, and arrived on the other side.

"I unlocked the room, and inside was an enormous Deku Baba plant. It was the biggest I had ever seen, with two huge heads sprouting out of it's body and an even bigger head in the center. Saliva dripped from their mouths, and I fought it. They were capable of shooting purple sludge from their mouths, and I used a bombling (a type of plant bomb) to throw inside their mouths. I hacked away at their heads, and finally it was defeated. The shadow armor appeared from thin air, and Midna retrieved it. We then exited the temple to get to our next destination. We went to Kakariko and traversed through Death Mountain (I had to sumo wrestle with our mayor in order to get some iron boots, he can tell you that later when he feels like).

"I got rid of the Twilight that surrounded Kakariko village and the rest of Elden Province. Then, I went to the Mines, and retrieved the Shadow Armor from deep inside. I won't go into much detail about that, I'm getting rather tired, but all I can say, is that it was inside a volcano, rocky ledges surrounded by hot lava. I fought the Goron Champion Dangoro, who was also possessed and morphed into a hideous firey demon in order to get the Armor. So after that, I was on my way to my next destination, which was Lake Hylia, in Lanayru Province, However that's when I found you, and you know what happened then. I dropped you off in Kakariko, and went back to the Twilight covered area, you followed so you know what happened until you were transported back to Kakariko Inn. You know, Ayumi, you are the most stubborn person I have ever met." He interjected with a glare, and I grinned sheepishly back at him in return.

"Well, after you were back in the Inn, I got rid of the Twilight, and helped Ilia get to Kakariko with Prince Ralis. But recounting on what I saw in Lanaryu Province, there was a shortage of water. I listened to the people's conversations, when they were spirits, and they worried that something happened in Zora's domain. I went to Lake Hylia, and everything was frozen, there was no water in the lake, and the little amount that was left, was frozen into ice. Snow blew in from the North, and I fought a Twilit Bulbin Warrior on a Kargorok, you know, the giant dragon bird. Midna took control of the beast, and we used it to travel through Upper Zora's River Gorge through towards Zora's domain. When we arrived in the pinnacle of it, We were shocked to see that the once lovely water hole was completely frozen. No Zora's were around, yet, underneath the ice, I saw spiritual glows. Midna pointed it out, and I used my senses. What I beheld was terrible than I can ever imagine… Everyone of the Zora's were frozen. Hundreds of immobile bodies were trapped underneath us. The memory of it… Was horrifying.

"Queen Rutella appeared to us, and she told us to help her son, Ralis, gain his courage." He stopped suddenly to look at me, I gazed back, but listened to his words.

"We got the tears of light, back to the Spirit in the spring, and I was human again. The Spirit rose to an enormous form of a snake, and told me a story. He used his powers to send me a vision, which was also, like the Zora's except more so, terrifying to witness.

_"All was dark, and Ilia and I were staring off into the distance at the Golden Light, that was there. We were the interlopers, who sought the Golden Power with greed in our hearts. Ilia betrayed me, eyes white and blind, she stabbed me with the knife behind her back. My eyes also blank, widened in despair and I bent over, I ran towards the light, and two dark figures were staring at me with red eyes. They were garbed in a black mockup of the tunic that I wore, for they were me in form. I screamed. The Spirits were sent to stop the commotion between the interlopers and the golden power. The next thing I saw, was Ilia falling upside down, laughing evilly, her eyes deep blue and haughty. More Ilia's rained from the black sky, laughing in the same manner, all turning round and round, upside down. _

"I had awoken from the vision, and the Spirit told me, that I must stop the evil of the Shadow King. Then it went away. I melted away the ice, by going to Death Mountain to get the gigantic flaming rock that was hurled towards me a while ago. After that, I had brought Ralis and Ilia to Kakariko, and received the Zora Armor, which allows me to breathe underwater, and I went to the Underwater lake Temple. I retrieved the Armor, and was transported back to the Spirit's Spring. But just then, Zant appeared and the Spirit tried to attack him. Zant turned it aside with ease. He then turned to me, and used his powers to turn me into a wolf. Midna tried to block it, but she was severely injured. Zant stole the armor, and Midna and I, went back to Hyrule Castle through Telma's Bar. There was a tunnel there, that could get to the Castle. We met Zelda again who gave her magic to Midna in attempt to heal her. Midna argued at first, but Zelda already did it.

"The next thing we knew, is being outside castle town, looking up at the castle. A gigantic impassible golden barrier blockaded the Castle in, no one could get in or out. Midna used the power that Zant had hit her with and turned me back into a human. I can turn into a wolf and back at will. We went to Kakariko on the eve of your birthday and stayed there for the night. Renado informed me about what happened since I last was there."

"Wow, Yoshimi… You have been through so much." I said. To my surprise, he sat closer to me and held me in his arms. I hugged him back, but he kept his arms around me, and kissed the top of my head.

"Uh, hello? I'm still floating right here, you know." Said Midna, she was apparently disgusted with the sudden PDA. Yoshimi let go, and turned red. I felt a sudden wave of heat erupt from his body. It went away quickly as he gathered himself, and cleared his throat.

"Erm, sorry Ayumi… I hope I didn't scare you." He tried to sound formal, but his voice sounded embarrassed. That was highly unexpected. Entirely. Why did he do that? I was speechless.

"Anyways back to business… We need to make a plan. Midna says that our next stop should be the Gerudo dessert. She says that the Mirror of Twilight rests there, and it will help us defeat Zant. There's a gigantic abandoned temple there. It hasn't had life in it for years, but I have a feeling that even if life is isn't in there, the dead is. Which means that this place will be even more dangerous then the others." He looked at me with that overprotective look he used to give me.

"What? Don't tell me, that you don't want me to go there? Miss out on the action?" I said, defensively.

"I wish that you wouldn't have to go. But there's no choice. Midna tells me that since you changed destiny, you would be needed from now on. That blade-cut on your side occurred because of the sudden change. It's a warning."

My side ached as he said that, and I touched it gingerly. _He's just worried about me… That's all, overprotective. Not affection. _I thought, but what was up with his 'friendly' embrace? Could he have feelings for me? I shook my head. Now's not the time to be thinking that. There's a lot more serious stuff to worry about. I looked up and noticed the sky had turned a reddish color as the sun began to set. From now on, I need to get my head in the game.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Journey to the Master Sword; A Muse; The quest to find the truth.

**Me: Alright, chapter 3 has arrived… Thank you all for your support, it is highly **

**appreciated. Hopefully this isn't confusing? **

**Midna: What's the point of all these disclaimers in every chapter? Seriously? **

**Me: Well, I haven't been in FF community for very long, and it feels like the proper **

**thing to do! **

**Midna: Pfft… Fine… You're weird. I disclaim Zelda! There, a disclaimer, happy?**

**Me: It isn't my normal words, but I guess it works, hopefully…. Right? That's a **

**disclaimer?**

**Yoshimi: I think it's good. **

**Me: Hopefully it will suffice. **

"Ayumi, I think you should go to see Fado and get your horse. Don't you think it would be easier?" Yoshimi asked, a few mornings later. We have been resting in Ordon for a few days before we continued our journey today. He was stocking up on food to get ready for the day's travels.

"Probably so, Epona probably wouldn't be able to handle the extra weight if we rode together from now on." I picked up an apple from the table and bit into it. The inside of it was completely rotted, and I spit it back out into the trash can, "Disgusting!"

Yoshimi laughed at me. I ignored him and threw the rest of the apple into the trash.

"Then maybe you should go visit him now. Don't worry, I won't abandon you." I looked at him, and he stuck out his tongue to make a silly expression. I giggled and walked outside.

"Ah… What a beautiful day." I sighed. Yoshimi seemed to be in high spirits today. He hasn't laughed like that since my birthday. I walked across the village and towards the Ranch. It was around 6 o' clock in the morning, and nobody seemed to be up yet. The sky was turning a pleasant gray color which usually accompanied to dawn. Not a cloud was in sight so far. The air was cool, and the green grass was fresh and dewy between my bare toes. A squirrel scampered across the ground, a few feet in front of me, and chased a nut that was rolling away. Baby birds chirped for their mother in the nearest tree. When I got to the Ranch gate, I saw Fado leading the goats out of the barn for their daily graze.

"Hey, Fado!" Fado looked up at me and gave me a toothy grin.

"Oy! Ayumi, what brings you around here?" I ran through the open gate and gave him a hug.

"I was just wondering if I could have Maelen. Yoshimi and I were in town and we thought it would be burdensome to Epona if we both rode on her at the same time." Maelen was the black stallion I received on my 15th birthday. Fado patted my back and went into the barn. He came out leading Maelen by the reigns, and she gave a kind of happy "neigh" when she saw me. I walked over to her and hugged her head then stroked her shiny mane.

"Hey there girl, did you miss me?" She nuzzled my ear and I shivered, "Hehe, I'll take that as a yes."

"So, Ayumi, I can see Yoshimi finally let you come with him on his 'adventures'."

"Yes he has, though he was rather reluctant about it." Fado frowned thoughtfully.

"What are you guys planning to do?" I hesitated before answering him.

"I don't know if Yoshimi would want me to say our plans…"

"Haha, understandable, it's ya'lls business." He hugged me again, "I'm sure Yoshimi wouldn't want you to keep him waiting. So why don't you go on and head out, kay? Take care of little Mae and stay safe."

"Thank you, Fado…" I got up on Maelen and started the ride back to Yoshimi. I'd forgotten how much fun and comfortable it was to ride on little "Mae." She galloped smoothly, and I could feel a deep connection between us. I thought of Queen Rutella and her words, _Your innate powers seem to be growing._ I could feel a great serene wave emanating from her warm body.

Why wasn't Fado surprised to hear that Yoshimi actually let me out of a protected hole in order to join him? Surely he would have had a different reaction rather than "understand?" Yoshimi had put his foot down on me leaving Ordon. He was never one too change his mind or let anything influence a change. Fado is rather strange_, I suppose it does no good to worry. _I thought.

I closed my eyes and was about to breathe in the morning air, but we were already at Yoshimi's house. Reluctantly, I opened them back up again. I hopped of Mae and patted her back as Yoshimi brought our bags out from the house and hooked them up to the horses. The sun was now peaking over the trees, the sky turning a light blue color.

"Where to next, Yoshimi?" Midna came out of his shadow and spoke in his place.

"After we saw Zelda, we went back to the Castle to try to gain entrance, but it was indeed blocked off. Before we got to Zelda through Telma's bar, we spied 4 people creating a resistance group. Rusl being one of them, a woman named Ashei, a guy named Shad, and a rather mysterious guy named Auru. They were making plans of some sort. We'll get to that issue later. When we talked to Zelda, she mentioned something about the Blade of Evil's Bane… We need to obtain it."

_An ornate sword in the middle of a meadow. The Master Sword. _

"I see… We need to go to the Sacred Grove…" I said impulsively.

Midna and Yoshimi stared at me then at each other with knowing looks.

"Um, what?"

"Your innate powers are getting stronger." Said Midna.

"How did you know?..."

"Don't worry about that now, Ayumi," Yoshimi said, he looked at Midna again, "Let's head off to the Sacred Grove."

"Wait, you aren't going to trust my judgment, are you?"

"Of course we are." _The girl has magic, trust her, even if she becomes doubtful of herself, always rely on her gift. _A beautiful voice spoke in my head, and I saw a flash of brilliant green eyes. I didn't argue with them.

"How do we get there?' I asked.

"Faron woods." Midna said.

"Alright, then lets head on. It's a good thing we are in Ordon, we are close." _Destiny._

I closed my eyes and tried to figure out where that voice came from. It annoyed me to a great extent not to know why there are voices in my head. _I'm going crazy. _I thought.

Midna disappeared back in Yoshimi's shadow, and Yoshimi got onto Epona.

I got on Maelen. We rode past the Spring and across the bridge towards Faron woods. Now I could see what they meant by a poisonous, purple fog covering North Faron woods. It was everywhere.

"How are we going to get past this?" I asked, but suddenly my body dissolved into black shadowed particles. A sudden upward swoop caught me off guard. I couldn't breathe for several seconds, then my "body" gave a big jerk downward and reformed. I looked beside me to see Yoshimi in wolf form.

"Oh!" It surprised me to see him in this form, and Midna started laughing at me in a cruel manner. I chose to ignore her.

"I hope you aren't afraid of spider's 'Yum-Yum'" I twitched.

'Yum-Yum–" but then I caught the meaning of her actual words, "Spi-spiders?"

"Yes, see over there on that path? That's the Forest Temple!" She gave me a gleeful expression and I was frozen in place. Yoshimi barked and growled at Midna, warning her not to tease me in such a way.

"Oh! Look it's Rusl!" I changed the subject quickly and ran over to Rusl who was standing by a big chasm.

"Ayumi? Yoshimi! I've been waiting for you." He seemed confused to see me there. Yoshimi walked by me in human form, and I squealed. He gave me a look that said, "Don't get startled!" but it also said, "Haha, I'm going to have fun with THIS new reaction."

"Really?" Yoshimi said. I looked behind Rusl to see a golden Cucko waddling around. It was so shiny…

"Yes, two Cuckos but I was expecting only you to be here… Change of plans, obviously. You're lucky that I brought two." I looked at another golden Cucko waddling around the other one. _He understands why I'm here…_ The scene froze again, and the name Amanda popped in my head.

"Hello?" I said to nobody in particular, then a woman appeared, standing on a rock nearby. Her appearance took my breath away. She had long, dark, reddish hair, and the strands that framed her face, and parts of other sections on her head, were braided with golden beads. She had a black topaz choker clasped around her neck and a tattoo of the moon imprinted on the base of her neck.

Her clothes looked rouge-ish, consisting of a black bra with beaded strings of gold that moved whenever she shifted her position. She also had black shorts, and a cloth decorated with silver stars and moons that was wrapped around her hips. The hem was decorated with the same beaded strings on her bra. She had two sheathed daggers hanging from a small metal belt.

"Hey there kitty cat." She gave a crooked grin that had the air of a rebel to it.

"Amanda, right?" I asked, unsure.

"Yeah, Amanda. You know, the twin of 'perfect' Angelic Angela." She rolled her eyes. _My muses, Angela, Amanda, Matt, and Mick. They are like my guardian angels sent to watch over me, and to give answers to the unknown. _

"You came to help me?"

"Yes, whatever you ask, I'll answer as straight as I can." She took out a dagger casually and started sharpening it with a metal file.

I thought about Yoshimi's over-protectiveness, my new fate, powers, and how Fado and Rusl seemed to understand why I am with Yoshimi after all he's done to make sure that I don't get out of Ordon. The way he embraced me that other time… A means of affection or love? I also remembered when Yoshimi examined the cut in my side and said "She" warned him. Who warned him? It's as if he knew all along that this would happen.

I grabbed my head. It was pulsing painfully but the pain was dull, an annoying dullness. This is all too much, and I never thought about all the stuff that has been happening before. It never occurred to me as strange. I've never felt the real weight of confusion until now. All these unanswered questions began to circulate around and around. Amanda smirked slightly.

"Feeling it now, eh?" She looked at me with great interest. My head throbbed again and my annoyance rose. I didn't say anything, my sense of speech was lost. Amanda sensed my hesitance, and her expression softened a little.

"I know it's hard… But the only way you can find your answers, is if you meditate. You need to relax and breathe. Just close your eyes." I obeyed without pause.

"Relax and let your troubles melt away, and start from the beginning of when all the confusion happened. The source… And work from there. Breathe slowly."

My shoulders dropped immediately several inches, and I realized they were tensed up in a stressful position. I sat down, without opening my eyes, and began to breathe like she said. _The source…_

_I need to get out, I can't stand it here… Then I saw Yoshimi. _

_"Please, let me come with you…" _

_"No." _

_I vowed that I would get out one day. _

"Ayumi? I have to go now. I'm truly sorry… You were always a slow thinker, haha." Amanda's voice interrupted my train of thought, "Just keep meditating whenever you feel stressed. Even in this short amount of time, I see that the some confusion slipped away. Only slightly, however. You can't get the answers immediately, it will take time, and the time for me to be here has been cut short. Take care, alright girly? Remember to meditate, and the puzzle pieces will slip together eventually. See you." She disappeared, and the scene resumed.

_I need to know… Why can't these puzzle pieces fit together? I'll find out eventually. Sooner or later._


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 5: Yoshimi's Story

**Me: This next chapter contains Yoshimi's point of view of what happened when he and Midna went to get the last Fused Shadow.**

**Master Sword: Neko does not own Zelda, the games, nor I. This story is strictly fan-based.**

**Me: First Epona, now the Master Sword?... What has this world come to?...**

**Master Sword: …**

"Yoshimi, get the heart container then let's get out of here… We finally have the last Fused Shadow piece." Midna said. I picked up the heart container and looked around. It was a large circular chamber filled with drained water that, not even 5 minutes earlier, had filled it up to the very top. I looked up towards where I had fallen through to come here. I couldn't even see the entrance. It was too high up, and there was a hole in the ceiling. I looked at the torn-down columns that stood up around 20 minutes ago and remembered how I chased the giant Aquatic Morpheel around. It rammed into them, causing them to fall into the state they are in now. I closed my eyes and did a play back on how I beat that horrible beast.

_I opened the ornate lock, using the matching master key, and pushed aside the door. Looking down, I saw a small hole surrounded by pots that I could smash to get rupees, hearts and most certainly a fairy that would revive me if I fell. I broke the pots and retrieved the fairy in my bottle. I sat down and tried to see the bottom of the hole, but all I could see was darkness. My shadow rotated around and Midna came up. _

_"We need to drop down this hole… Hopefully you are not claustrophobic hehehe!" I glared at her and swung my legs inside the narrow hole. I dropped my body in and immediately fell into a dark pool of water. I was in a small circular room and below me was another hole. Midna appeared again. _

_"Put on your iron boots, I sense the Fused Shadow… We are closer, but something is waiting for us down there… Be careful." I donned my iron boots and began to sink lower and lower, going past the other hole and into a room as big as a large coliseum. It was lighter down here, but further down below me, were tall pillars outlining the gigantic room. It was a good thing I received the Zora armor from Queen Rutella. I could breathe easily with the water mask I was wearing. Still, 5 minutes later, I was dropping lower and lower through the water. Pressure started building in my ear drums as I fell slowly through the oxygen-less arena. Finally after 10 minutes, I landed on the floor. The earth trembled beneath me as a loud rumbling caught me off guard. Midna appeared suddenly, _

_"Watch out!" She disappeared again while the sand in the middle of the room began to sink inward, creating a gaping hole. All was still for a moment, until an incredible tentacle rose out of the hole. An eye moved up and down inside it and the structure finally went back down inside the hole. A roar reached my ears and another rumble sounded. More tentacles reached out of the hole and the monster's body rose out. It was brown, and it's shape was round. Its mouth in-lined the body, three rows of sharp teeth made it up. Even though I couldn't see it, somewhere inside the mouth was a hidden tongue. The eye was still moving through the tentacle, except this time, moving through the other tentacles. _

_"Yoshimi, you have to use your iron boots to weigh yourself down and use that claw shot you received from the Deku Toad you fought to grab that eye. But make sure you stay away from the tentacles itself, they will drag you inside the mouth." _

_I did what she said and stood away from the tentacles. Bringing out the claw shot, I aimed for the eyes and shot it out. The claws zoomed toward the tentacle and grasped the eye, pulling it towards me. Avoiding a tentacle that was edging toward me, I began to hew the eye multiple times. _

_The Morpheel shrieked in pain, and the tentacle pushed me aside to grab the eye. It shrunk down back into the hole, and at first I thought it was over, until there was a crash. This time, with horror, I saw it's full body emerging into view. It seems, I was only fighting it's face. The body slithered out of the hole, face first, then the rest of the body. I took off my boots and swam toward it. It was knocking over the giant columns as it progressed fully around the arena. Avoiding the falling debris, I noticed another eye on it's back. Brandishing the claw shot, yet again, I gave chase knowing that I had to aim at that eye._

_Getting close enough, I shot at the eye and felt myself get pulled as it latched on tightly. I stabbed and ripped at it repeatedly, until the Morpheel bucked me off again. Again, I repeated the process, and on the last stab, it shrieked again in awesome pain. It bucked me off, and I witnessed it flailing around crashing into more columns then finally rammed into the wall. _

_It gave one twitch then exploded into black, clouded shadows. It's remains scattered then gathered to form the last fused shadow. Midna rose out of my shadow as the water in the arena drained. _

"Are you coming or not?" Said Midna, she sounded a little impatient.

"Oh… Right… Sorry." Ayumi's face appeared in my head, she seemed to be in pain. _That was strange. _I thought. _I suppose we better get going._ This concerned me, I took one more peek at the room and the water that remained in indentures that covered the ground. I walked to Midna who sighed exasperatedly then transported us both out.

The next thing I knew, I was inside the Spirit, Lanaryu's, spring. I looked beyond the cliff and into the water below. Something seemed off, and I turned around to face Midna. But instead of Midna's impish form, a larger body of a man with a terrifying mask stood there looking down at me. The mask was stone, and the tip was pointed. Large, carved eyes stared at me, and it's mouth was wide open with a long pointed tongue reaching out. He was wearing a black, tribal cloak and armor, the sleeves were slightly fringed.

Lanaryu's great form as a brilliant snake came out of the water, prepared to defend against the unwelcome threat. Zant knocked the Spirit back with a shockwave of energy, and He fell back powerless. The cavern was cast into twilight. My body transformed into the wolf.

Midna rose out of my shadow, angrily.

"ZANT!" She cried out. Zant looked at her and with a casual flick of his hands, the Fused Shadow armor disconnected and floated to him.

"Do you think that the withered power of this armor is enough to defeat me, Midna?" He said calmly, his voice deep. "Why do you betray your king?"

"You were never my king, and never will be." Midna spat at him. I felt myself growl at Zant. He ignored me and continued.

"So you are willing to cling to measly world of light?" He asked, a threatening note in his tone, "Form a new alliance with me." Midna gasped and writhed as her body floating to him, unwillingly, with magic.

"We can fuse the world, with light and darkness, our magic can overcast these worthless light beings. We will be powerful, feared, together… Will you still refuse this generous offer?" He whispered closely in her ear. She grimaced and gritted her teeth when his helmet opened up to reveal a pale face with pointed teeth.

"No." She said, seething, "You have false power. I have no idea where you received it… But I will never form an allegiance with you!"

Zant's form shuddered and he gripped his hands into tight fists.

"I received this power from MY god. But I have no respect for a traitor who doesn't respect this great power from my god." Zant outstretched his arms and a ball of fire began to form. He aimed it at Midna, but I jumped in front of her in order to block it.

A sharp surge of pain pierced my body. A remain of the ball stabbed through my forehead and I yelped. Collapsing onto the ground, Midna rushed to my side to check me. She cried out and flew upward then back down, hitting the ground with force.

"You will learn the error of your ways." He flung her at the wall and she screamed again. I could only watch, too hurt to move. Zant used lifted her up telekinetically and controlled Lanaryu's Spirit. The Spirit let out a ball of light and it hit Midna. I felt my body dissolve then transport to Hyrule field. I stood up, and discovered I was still in wolf form. Midna fell onto my back and groaned in pain.

"Pl-please… We n-need to go… P-princess Z-zelda…" I ran as fast as I could towards Castle town. Thunder rumbled and a surge of lightening cracked across the sky. Drops of water pelted my face and body. The rain, thunder, and lightening strengthened to become a full on storm. Another fork of lightening struck across the sky, and again I thought of Ayumi. I hoped that she was ok, and cooperating in Kakariko village.

I sped quickly across the fields, the looming structure of Hyrule Castle coming into view. Another strike of lightening streaked across the sky, lighting the place up. I evaded Bulbin warriors who had taken it in their will to shoot flaming arrows at me.

Finally, I arrived at the Eastern gate of Castle town as the rain poured down drenching everything. _At this rate, there will be a flood…_ I thought desperately. Trotting through the gate, women, men and children shrieked in terror at me. I ignored them as best as I could and ran toward the Castle gate. Immediately, I was stopped because there were a couple of guards who were guarding the way. Their hands shook pathetically as they tried to threaten me back with spears. I turned around and headed back to the square. More people cried out at the sight of me and cats around me stopped to yell advice.

"You are a new face, go to Telma's cat Louise! She'll know what to do!"

"Oh? Another patient? Go to Louise!" I ran to the southern road and arrived at the bar. I walked to the door but was thrown out.

"Stay away beast!" I grunted in annoyance.

"You must be Yoshimi… The humans mention you quite a lot. I believe we met one time, but we weren't properly introduced. Do you need passage way?" Meowed a white cat from the corner. She didn't pay attention to the fierce rain falling down. "Go up to that window, be careful though, there are pots up there and you don't want to risk getting thrown out again. The way to the castle is beyond." I looked at the high window and down again. I noticed a crate that could be pushed against the other crates below the window so I could get in. I pushed the crate and climbed to the window. I walked in and noticed a Goron taking guard. He was grumbling about why he had to escort Telma back here from Kakariko. I noticed a tight rope going across the room and padded quietly, avoiding the pots, across it. Whispered voices reached me, there was a group of people talking to each other about me. They were talking about how I drove away monsters and where I came from. One voice sounded familiar, but now was not the time to mind it. I reached another window and bounded through it.

I landed on a large pile of gold coins, and looked at my new surroundings. There was a golden man sitting on a throne. A golden cat perched his head. A Poe, type of ghost, popped up at me, and swung it's scythe. I jumped and attacked it, finally tearing out a piece of soul. The statue spoke,

"Thank you… I will call you doggie… Is that ok? Please collect my soul, I want to see my girlfriend again… I'm afraid, I have been terribly greedy and sold my soul to the Poes in exchange for gold. I don't want it anymore… Just collect my soul so that I may be able to see my girlfriend again… Here, go through this chest a passage to the castle lies inside. The chest opened up and I climbed down into it, falling into a flooding sewer.

I swam to a ledge and pulled myself on top of it. Midna's breathing was harsh and forced. She was having trouble. I couldn't afford to slow down, I had to get to Zelda.

Ignoring the rats that scampered across the stone floor, I noticed a chained handle and jumped to bite it. The barred gate behind it opened and I fell down a watery chute.

Landing into another flooded pool, I swam to the stairs and trotted up them. There was a Skulltula walking around and another hanging on a web that blocked another passage. The Skulltula noticed me and attacked. I killed it and the other, then grabbed a wooden stick that lay on the floor.

I noticed that there was a torch in the corner so I caught the stick on fire and burned the web that blocked my path. Queen Rutella's voice echoed in my head.

_"The course of destiny has been reversed…" _A sharp pain slashed through my waist and I could feel blood beginning to form and soak into my fur. The pain caught me by surprise and I cried out. Midna flinched on my back and she let out a low groan. I kept running despite the pain in my side, desperately trying to focus on getting Midna to the princess as fast as possible instead of the blood that was continuing to seep out of the mysterious new wound. I noticed another web on a ledge in the far right corner and immediately climbed to burn it.

A Bulbin warrior that was lurking in the shadows sprang out to attack. I dispatched it and proceeded through an open, narrow door.

This place looked familiar as I had visited it the first time I met Zelda. I climbed the spiraling stairwell and walked across the ropes to the top. Next, I found myself on the roof tops and it was still raining heavily. Following the path I took last time I finally arrived at Zelda's bedchamber.

I looked around cautiously, and a hand was placed on my head. The princess was looking down at me sorrowfully.

"What has happened?" She whispered. Midna lifted her head and looked at Zelda.

"We were attacked by Zant… Please, if there is anything you can do… Please return this one to his normal form." Zelda looked at me, and I could tell by her expression that there was nothing that could be done by her hands.

"You are bleeding?..." Something flickered in her eyes, "It seems that it has already begun…" Midna started at the sentence.

"What has?"

"I will get to that in a moment, but for now, it seems that dark magic is the culprit and cannot easily be undone… You have to go the Sacred Grove and obtain the Blade of Evil's Bane… Only then can you return to your original form. Unless…" She paused, "There is one other that can help you, Ayumi, once you realize your duty to her, maybe then can you reverse this magic. However, even after the magic is reversed you still need to obtain the Sword, for it is the only way you can fight the looming shadows that are covering this land." I felt Midna grip my back tighter.

"The p-pain is getting worse…Please tell him… where the Mirror of Twilight is." Zelda looked at Midna with alarm, but her expression softened. A glow emitted from her hands.

"This is the only way."

"NO! Yoshimi! Stop her!" Before I knew it, the golden light zoomed into Midna and she was instantly healed. Just then, Zelda disappeared. Midna sighed and warped us out.

We were outside Castle Town in Hyrule Fields, a glint caught my eye towards the East. The castle developed a golden shield before our eyes. No one would be able to get in now.

_"The course of destiny has been changed, courage has been restored, journey together with the other, with her you will find your way." _Zelda's voice echoed around us.

"Yoshimi, do you know what that means?" Midna asked, "Just think."

What could the princess have meant? _"Courage has been restored." _

Unfortunately, I knew she meant Ayumi had to be with us now. I was afraid… That this would happen, Zelda warned me when we met her… That Ayumi would become of use in thismission. She has no idea… about her other life. The spell that was cast on her. It's not fair. She shouldn't have to come closer to danger. I tried to keep her away, make sure Rusl watched, but I knew that I shouldn't have trusted him with that task. He actually AGREED with Zelda. She doesn't deserve this. And she has no idea what will happen to her.

"Have you figured it out? I'm not so sure about the whole 'courage' thing, but I'm sure that Ayumi is the 'other.' So let's go back to Kakariko… Remember, Zelda said that Ayumi is the key to return to your human form, beside the Sword of Evil's Bane. So let's see what happens." She immediately warped me out, and the next thing I knew I was standing in Kakariko's Spring. I seemed to be taller, looking down I saw that I had turned back into a human. I should have felt relieved, but instead I felt fear for her.

I entered the old, stony sanctuary and saw Renado and Ilia talking.

"Yoshimi!" Ilia ran to me, "How is Epona? You aren't going to hard on her, are you?" Too bad she doesn't remember anything, but maybe she shouldn't remember so soon, I have been overworking Epona recently, and if she knew… I shuddered to think about it. She was scarier than a hundred rabid goats. Her poor father.

I chuckled at the memory before she got kidnapped. When Malo got captured, and I had to save him (which included using Epona, she twisted her ankle). She was telling off her own father. Me? I can understand, but her father?

"_You are supposed to be the MAYOR!" _

"No, don't worry Ilia, she's fine. (But you don't need to check… No seriously!)" Ilia was trying to get past me to see her.

"Fine, I'll leave you and Renado to talk." She pushed me aside, and slammed the door.

"So, Yoshimi, what brings you here?" Renado asked, casually. He already seems to know, my sensitivity to Ayumi's safety. But he played along anyhow.

"How is she?" I asked.

"She's doing better," Renado looked at me, "I think something happened in the grave yard. The Zora boy, Ralis, he has been staying there for quite a while. Never coming until dinner time. But tonight, he came back into the inn, quite cheerfully. He was always so depressed." I remembered how Rutella told me to help Ralis accept her death. She said that he wouldn't be sure if he was strong enough to take her place as the ruler of Zora's domain. Something about that clicked into place in my head. _He wasn't sure… He was scared, or 'cowardly'. The Queen told me to help him find courage. Ayumi did that in my place, so that's how the path of destiny was reversed. _I _was supposed to help him, not her. Why didn't I do that sooner? _

"Ugh."

"Is something wrong?"

"Kind of… What day is it?" I asked.

"Hm, the last time I checked, it was… May 6th."

"May 6th? I completely forgot! Tomorrow is Ayumi's birthday!"

_And the anniversary when she became part of this world._

**(author's note)**

**Me: So now you know what happened with Yoshimi while he was away. The events that led up to what happened on Ayumi's birthday… Well, stay tuned for the next chapter.**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 4:

\Chapter 5: The Sacred Grove and the Master Sword.

**Me: I can't believe I got this far, it's weird. Oh well, I might as well finish the **

**story… I'm actually thinking of making this a trilogy? Perhaps…**

**Rusl: Ayumi does not own Zelda or any of it's games, this is strictly fan-based. **

"Yes, it is lucky you brought two Cuckos, thanks Rusl." Yoshimi said.

"They are one of my prized possessions." Rusl said proudly. I watched as they conversed but didn't process what they were saying. I was too busy thinking about Amanda and her advice. "I assume you know how to fly a Cucko, Ayumi?"

"Hm? Oh, yes, I practiced about 3 years ago. It was fun." Three years ago, I would practice jumping from the low cliff by the shop and try to land on a rock. It was a short jump, and probably nothing compared to this deep chasm. "So, why do we need them, exactly?"

"You need to get to the Sacred Grove right? Well, you see the rocks that jut out over there? Near the path of the Forest Temple? Well you need to get over there, then keep jumping on others like it. There's also swinging logs you need to get past. Be careful of those, (Yoshimi, you better jump after her if she is sent flying down below or I'll disown you. You know how careless she can be, haha.) The entrance is right there after the logs." My eyes wandered to the jut out in the cliff. I was reluctant to get close to the Temple, but I had to try not to think about it.

"Are you ready, Ayumi?" Asked Yoshimi, his hand found my shoulder, but he took it back awkwardly.

"I think so." He grabbed a Cucko (it started squawking it's head off), gave it to me, then picked up his own.

"You go first… That way I can keep track of you from behind. Ready? Set! JUMP!" I jumped, my stomach lurched when the Cucko dipped a little as we soared over the bottomless chasm. It regained it's power and struggled to keep flapping towards the other side, fighting the sudden weight that gripped it's feet dragging it down. We lost a little height as the Cucko got tired, and I dropped onto the ledge, staggering over.

_Ugh, remind me to never do THIS ever again... This was the worst… _

_Why did it have to be this way? Why did the fates cause her to become part of this danger. If only there was a way that Ayumi didn't have to go through this. She doesn't have any idea what could lie ahead in her future. She doesn't know… She can be so stubborn and headstrong… Why couldn't Princess Zelda have sent her back to her true home? _I thought. My heart almost jumped straight out of my chest when she nearly slipped on that last jump. _She can be so careless._

"Hey, Ayumi? Be more careful!" I called. Then I jumped to the ledge near the forest temple.

"Sheesh, Yoshimi, I'm fine! Let's just get this over with!" She said, impatiently.

"Alright. just wait there, okay?"

"Fine!" I positioned myself carefully and took flight to the ledge where she stood.

_I just want her to be safe._

"Okay, may I go now _daddy?_" I ignored that remark, but I couldn't help smiling a little at her sarcasm.

"Yeah, just be careful." She grinned and jumped.

"Woah, Rusl wasn't kidding about the swinging logs…" She eyed the two obstacles, swinging back and forth. She wasn't so quick to jump this time.

"It's okay, Ayumi, just relax and time your jump, it's simple. Here, let me go first." I timed the jump perfectly and landed with ease, then I turned around.

"Kay, come on over." She tried not to look down and jumped. The log almost hit her and she squeaked.. She nearly missed the ledge but not before I caught her by the waist. I accidentally brushed her breast lightly, but she didn't notice, thank goodness.

"Thanks, I owe you one." She pulled away. Not bothering to wait for me to go first, she timed her jump carefully and landed accurately. She jumped one more time and landed on the cliff. "Woo! Who's the queen? Hehe." She put her leg on a rock, placed her hand on her hip. Then she brought out her sword, and raised it high to promote victory then giggled.

_She probably doesn't notice how cold she can be at times, but she sure is relatively playful. _I jumped after her and landed beside her. We walked through the tunnel and on to the other side. We were in a small grove.

"How are we going to get in, it's sealed." She asked. A solid stone wall blocked a possible path. I looked down and saw a stone rock with the emblem of the Triforce on the ground. Midna came out of my shadow.

"You have to transform." _Oh yeah, that's right, she kept the rock that was embedded in my head after Zant attacked, now I can switch forms at will. _I felt a split second pain while my body morphed. Fur tore out of my skin and I grew paws. I was seeing things in wolf view. It was strange to be able to transform without the present of Twilight. I padded towards the stone and howled what appeared to be _Zelda's lullaby_. Ayumi screamed. I turned back into a human and brought out my sword, prepared to defend. A strange kid with a skull mask had bounded out of the trees.

He pulled out a trumpet and blew a long, distinct note.

We entered the tunnel and came into a small grove. It seemed peaceful, and I could hear music in my head. It was beautiful, but it had a sinister edge to it. _Saria's Lullaby._ I remembered when Rusl read about the legendary hero of time. His best friend from the forest he lived in, Saria, created the song. He played the song on his Ocarina and used it to transport to and from the Forest Temple. I closed my eyes and listened to it.

"How do we get in, it's sealed." I asked, though it was more of a statement. I could feel Yoshimi's eyes on the back of my head. I heard Midna telling him to transform. I looked at him when he started howling, definitely off-key, and smiled. _Yoshimi was always a terrible singer, I guess the trait still continues when he's a wolf. _Amovement caught my eye, and a kid with a mask came from the trees. I screamed. Yoshimi transformed into a human and took out his sword.

_What is that thing?? _I thought, looking at the skull kid and back to Yoshimi. He took out a trumpet and blew a long note. A chill ran down my spine; the trumpet added to the evil in the music, making it stand out. The stone wall disappeared, creating a pathway. The Skull kid ran out.

"Let's go!" Called Yoshimi, he was already running after him and I tried to keep up.

"Ah! Slow down Yoshimi, your too fast!" I complained. Yoshimi stopped suddenly and I ran into him. "EEP! What's going on?" I could hear the Skull kid playing his trumpet in tune with Sara's lullaby. I looked around and a big gust of wind blew through the trees catching leaves. My hair whipped across my face. The last note of the trumpet lingered in the air, like a distant echo, because the Skull kid was running again. The lullaby faded, and the wind became stronger. _Something isn't right._ I thought, the wind went away completely and there was a still silence in the air.

Something hit me hard on the head and I cried out, stumbling to the ground. A trickle of blood oozed down my cheek from a cut on my brow. I looked up to see a puppet like skeleton standing over me, it's arms were fixed like a marionette was holding them up. It's face looked like a scarecrow's, big eyes, and a stitched on mouth in the shape of a twisted grin. It bent down and quickly put his head right in my face. It looked at me then tilted it's head curiously.

I screamed again, bringing out my sword to kill the puppet, who was rudely invading my personal space by looking up and down my body. It disappeared in the usual puff of smoke. I looked around the meadow for Yoshimi, who was fighting off more Puppets. He was surrounded.

I stood up and ran to his rescue. We hacked away in unison until they all were dead. My heart was pounding hard, and I tried to keep breathing smoothly.

"Are you okay, Yoshimi?" I asked, my breathe still slightly ragged.

"Yeah…" He looked at my face, "You're hurt!"

"Eh, it's not that bad…" I mumbled, a split pain seared the cut, and I flinched. I tried to hide it, but Yoshimi saw and shook his head. He lifted his hand toward my head as if to check it out, but I blocked it. "Let's get going, I have a bad feeling about this." _Saria's lullaby_ started up again and I heard the trumpet playing with it, on the other side of the tunnel to the right. There was a glow, like fire, flickering inside it.

Yoshimi seemed to hear it as well, because he looked in that direction as well. An ominous feeling came over me.

"Yoshimi, we should get out of —AH!" The trumpet went away but the last note lingered in the air. More puppets were skittering towards us, their heads tilting exaggeratedly to the left and right. Their hooked up arms were backward with their movement and their feet dragged across the dirt. They attacked again, and we defended. One claw-like hand slashed my arm, making four long, scrapes to form. I ignored the pain, but my arm throbbed as blood started to form. We finished killing the monsters and ran toward the tunnel where the fire glowed.

"Yoshimi, I think we need to attack the Skull kid, in order to get rid of them." Yoshimi brought out a bow and arrow, which I have never seen before, and got out a bomb. He combined them, and shot it at the Skull Kid who was dancing on a large tree stump ahead. A perfect hit. The Skull kid didn't die, but he was startled. He blew his trumpet again. More Puppets came, we dispatched them quickly, and chased the Skull kid.

We followed him through tunnels, taking any chance to shoot him with the bomb arrow. I killed the Puppets who began to attack while Yoshimi fiddled with the arrow. The Skull kid had a temper tantrum, stomping his feet and growling angrily with a look of contempt on his face. He blew his trumpet in a different note, and a pathway opened up. We chased him again, getting rid of more Puppets. Yoshimi finally shot one more bomb arrow at him. The Skull kid stopped, and looked at us. He giggled and danced around, finally disappearing in a poof of confetti.

There was hidden path to the right, and we walked through it. Around us, there were eroded stone pillars that lay in ruins. Some still stood up but the others were crumbled on the ground. Long ago, they must have stood tall and proud, marking this place a great matter of importance.

_The temple of time._

Midna appeared and looked around

"Hmm, now where do you think we go from here?" She smirked and looked at me.

I automatically started walking towards some broken down stone stairs that was located under an archway. Yoshimi and Midna followed behind as I made my way down, being careful not to slip on loose rock. Once I got to the bottom, I looked to my left and saw a broken chest. The lid was broken off and weathered.

"Ayumi, where are we?"

"The hero of time came here long ago to get the master sword. We are at the temple of time." _An enormous female spider crawled around the ceiling of a large room. _I was startled at the sudden vision and stopped myself from crying aloud, "The master sword is straight ahead, beyond the statue guards."

We approached the second set of stone stairs but the two stone guards stopped us.

"You may not pass." Said one.

"You must first lead us back to our original places." Said the other. They both slammed their stone axes to the ground, and the small area became distorted. Everything swirled before my eyes.

"Yo-yoshimi?..." I felt like I would hurl. The soil began to shift, the ground broke apart into small sections, creating grassy, square platforms. A deep crevice separated them. Finally everything stopped, and I nearly fell into the hole.

"Eek!" Yoshimi jumped across the platforms as I caught myself just as I was sent pummeling. I tried to pull myself up, but my arms are extremely weak, I could feel gravity trying to force me down. The soil I was holding onto, began to slip.

Just as it slipped between my fingers, Yoshimi caught my arm. He pulled me up, and I collapsed onto the ground breathing harshly.

"Ayumi, are you ok?" I glared at him.

"Do you think I look ok?" I spat back at him. He looked away, ashamed. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have snapped at you like that."

"No, you shouldn't be sorry, if I hadn't have —"

"Look, humans, if you want to gain entry, hurry up and set us back to our original places, we are losing patience." Said the first statue.

"This _is _rather personal." Muttered the second.

"Sorry!" We both exclaimed.

"Begin!" I looked up at Yoshimi who seemed to be thinking of a plan. A wave of dizziness came over me and I put my head in between my legs.

"Are you sure you're ok?" He asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Images were zooming into my mind yet again, so I tried to concentrate on them.

_Jumping up and down left and right across platforms would get them to their correct spot, once they are, then they will slam their axes on the ground again. We will climb the stairs and behind them would lay the master sword. Upon retrieving the sword, we will receive company and notice. We will head to Castle Town, Lake Hylia, then Gerudo's Desert. _

I got up, and looked at each platform.

"Jump to the right."

"What?"

"Just do it." Yoshimi looked at me then obeyed. The two statues tried to jump in opposite directions, however one of them was stuck and the other jumped clear to the right. Midna popped up.

"Perfect, Yoshimi, Ayumi has now become an entirely useful part of our adventure. Her insight is growing quite a lot. Just do what she says or no doggy treats when you become a wolf again, hehe."

"Meh." Yoshimi groaned, "What's next Ayumi?"

I snickered.

"Down." He jumped again, and the statues responded. One of them jumping lower and the other jumping up. Yoshimi seemed so tiny compared to the statue that was closest to him.

"Left." He jumped again to the left and the statues responded.

"Left, up, then right again." He jumped multiple times, and the Statues pounded the platforms, "Up, up, right, down, down, and left."

Yoshimi did what I said, and I held my breath. We only had one more jump to go before solving the puzzle.

"Up." I said, and there was a loud roar. I was still standing on the platform (which, miraculously, hadn't been trampled by the statues). The area around us began to whirl again, and I squeezed my eyes shut. I distracted myself by thinking of lasagna. _Yummy, I can actually smell it! Next time we go to Kakariko, I will ask Ilia to make me some. _

"Ayumi, you can open your eyes now." I did so and everything was like it had been, before we started the task. I grinned, hypnotized by thought of the mouthwatering meal (that I WILL make sure) will be provided one day.

"Mwahahaha." I laughed evilly, but then Yoshimi nudged me and I came to my senses. One of the statues spoke again.

"You have succeeded in leading us to our correct spots."

"Although… This girl's appearance to the grove would be entirely surprising (and kind of scary)," Mused the other, who was also apparently disturbed by the fact that I was laughing evilly in such a random way. "If the Powers that Be hadn't warned us she would arrive as well, we would have killed her. It's amazing how strong her powers are."

It was indeed surprising and I was pleased. Who would have thought? The Powers that Be could most likely be the three Golden Goddesses.

"Proceed." They both said.

And on we proceeded to retrieve the Master Sword. I was trembling with anticipation.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6:

Chapter 6: A Surprising Event and an Invitation

**Me: This chapter's just a little short. I guess it's just a filler-upper. Even though **

**there is something rather important in here. **

**Midna: She disclaims this story, Zelda belongs to the respectful owners.**

**Yoshimi: Does she even know what she's doing? Or is she running out of ideas?**

**Me: No comment, Sir. **

I walked up the stone steps and observed my surroundings. We were in a circular glade, and right in the middle of the area, was the Blade of Evil's Bane. I could already feel the enchantment the Sword was giving off.

The magic of the Sword must have protected this place from age and erosion over the years. There, inside a pedestal, was the sword that defeated evil by the hand of the Hero of Time. I stopped in my place too intimidated, at this moment, to get nearer.

I could see it clearly from where I was standing. It had a purple handle with a red jewel and an eye in the center. It's blade is inscribed with ancient Hylian scripts.

Yoshimi walked past me and approached it. He stopped in place and looked at it intently for a moment. I was starting to feel annoyed watching him stare at it like that. It seemed like minutes had ticked by (or hours…) and he was _still_ standing there.

"Growr! Yoshimi, just pull it out and get it over with (I really want that lasagna)." He didn't respond and just kept staring. I sighed then walked over to nudge him in the arm to see if he was still alive… Or asleep? Blah.

"Yoshi-kun, pull it out." I said.

"No." _Huh?_

"Why not?"

"You should pull it out." I froze in place.

"What?"

"Pull it out."

"Um."

"_Pull. It. Out_."

"Why?"

" Do it."

"Why?"

"Just do it." He snapped.

"Fine." I stepped behind the pedestal and put my hand on the sword. I felt it's energy radiating in my hands as I pulled it out. There was a brilliant flash and the sword was bathed in a golden glow. "Oy!"

The golden light separated from the blade and began to form into two objects. The light faded out and I found myself holding a small crystal bottle, with crimson liquid inside, around my neck and another Master Sword. Another? _This is… unexpected._

"Woah, back up and freeze, what just happened?" The sword had replicated. How that is possible? I have no idea. I looked at Yoshimi. He seemed just as surprised as I was, and this time I couldn't find the answer.

"Yes, it is." Yoshimi whispered.

"Well, uh, what do we do now?"

"You wanted to go to Castle Town, remember?" Oh right, I forgot.

"Sure..." Yoshimi jerked his head to the stair, and we began to make our way back to Faron Woods. We had just arrived at Faron Spirit's spring, when a voice called out to us.

"Ayumi Yamashita, you have in your hands an exact replica of the Sword of Evil's Bane. This copy still hold's the same powers as the original, yet maybe not quite as powerful. However, that bottle holds an elixir, which musn't be drunk until the final moment that you will not be needed any further in this venture. After the Great Battle that is to come… Good luck." The voice faded away.

"Ok, well that explains a lot, let's be on our way to Castle Town." I said. There was too much to be done to stay and linger on the subject any further. _Keep the sword, avoid the potion, stay positive, and try to survive, got it. Doodedoo… _

I whistled and Maelen came galloping through a tunnel. Yoshimi picked up a reed and put it to his lips to call Epona.

Mae nuzzled her nose into my ear and I hugged her. Yoshimi got on top of Epona, and watched me.

"Let's get going before sundown." He said. I got on Mae and we headed back through the tunnel and passed Coro beside his fire.

Coro recognized me, and yelled out.

"Hey! Is that you, Ayumi? Have you forgotten my proposal?" He wiggled his eyebrows in a supposedly-seductive-yet-ever-failing way, and winked.

"Yes, I'm not marrying you. Freak."

"Aw, why not?"

"Do I have to answer that? I have to go somewhere right now."

"Fine, but you are going to tell me sooner or later."

"Whatever." Yoshimi led the way out into Hyrule Fields.

"What was that about?" Yoshimi asked, casually. Probably fighting back laughter.

"You don't want to know…" I muttered. He looked at me and grinned.

"Yes, I do."

"Uh, alright. When I ran away, I met him and he gave me a free lantern, and free oil. Then he asked me to marry him, and I hit him. The end." Yoshimi snickered.

"I have a feeling that's not all." I galloped next to him, and punched him in the arm.

"Well it's basically a full summary. I'm not going into detail."

"Suit yourself."

"HEYYYYY!!" The bunny-hatted mail man trotted, quickly, toward us. He skidded to a stop and faced me.

"Letters for Ayumi? I have two letters."

"Oh joy, a letter. Or two." He dug in his bag and handed me two envelopes.

"Have a nice day!" He sped off.

I opened up the first envelope and recognized Telma's handwriting.

Dear Ayumi and Yoshimi,

I have a few friend's I want to introduce you to. So please come by my bar in Castle Town. You know where to find it!

P.S. You might be excited to recognize one of them. See you then!

Telma.

"It's lucky that we were headed that way anyway." Yoshimi said. I opened the other letter.

Dear Missus Ayumi,

It is I your true love, Coro! I just wrote to you, reminding you that our Wedding day is set for 6 weeks from Sunday! I shall be writing to you every now and then to see how you are up and will expect you at the altar in Kakariko Village Sanctuary. I know how you love to play hard-to-get, hehe.

Your One and Only,

Coro

P.S. I have decided the names of our soon to come ten kids: Coro, Cora, Coral, Ayu, Ryu, Mimi, Mia, Ayumi, Yumi, and Kyoko. They will be extraordinarily beautiful children collected from the genes of beautiful parents.

P.S.S. I also enclosed a portion of my special homemade soup! Enjoy it, love!

"Blah." I ripped up the letter. _Note to self: If he is sending more letters, I'll do the same. Wedding? What wedding? Who said anything about a wedding? _

"Ooh, soup! It won't hurt to try it…" I took a sipped and immediately gagged it back up again. It was so _vile_ tasting. "BLAGH! EW, EW, EW, EW!! THAT IS DISGUSTING!" It tasted like rotten fish heads mixed with God-knows-what else. I'd rather not know. It seemed to take hours for the after-taste to go away. Still muttering away, I followed Yoshimi as we made progress through Hyrule fields.

That night, we arrived in the area outside Castle Town. I was appalled to see the Golden Barrier that surrounded the castle; blocking any possible entry inside. It was shaped like a pyramid and glowed in the night. I also noted strange patterns that made it up. What happened to Zelda? Is she dead? The guards inside? _Eh, Hyrule can get more useful guards, who cares… It's not much of a loss… Still, though, more human lives._

"Oh, my… It's a lot worse than I thought it was," I said. I was shaking, "how are we supposed to get past that thing…?"

"We don't for now." Yoshimi said. Midna appeared.

"First, we have to get the Fused Shadows back. And with that power, I bet we can break the barrier."

"Fun…" I quickly got off Mae and followed Yoshimi through the South gate of Castle Town.


End file.
